Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Thursday, 05 June 2014

BBC News

• South West 'may lose on transport'Regions such as the south west of England could be disadvantaged by changes to the way the government funds road and rail projects, says the Transport Select Committee.
• Steam railway's £1.2m station planAn historic steam railway in Gwynedd has unveiled plans for a new £1.2m station in Caernarfon.
• VIDEO: 'Foolish' woman on rail track soughtA woman caught on camera lying across railway tracks in Milton Keynes is being sought by police.
• Harbour makes £27m pre-tax profitBelfast Harbour makes pre-tax profits of £27m, up from £20m in 2012, as the port reaps the benefits of a major investment in its facilities.
• VIDEO: Bus uses radar to detect cyclistsTechnology that alerts bus drivers when a cyclist is riding in the vehicle's blind spot is undergoing its first full trial in the UK.
• New £2.5bn Heathrow Terminal 2 opensThe first paying passengers begin using Heathrow's new £2.5bn Terminal 2, with bosses pledging lessons have been learned from the troubled opening of T5.
• Halfords takes over Boardman BikesThe bike and car parts retailer Halfords has bought the cycling business set up by former Olympic champion Chris Boardman.

Financial Times

• Heathrow’s Terminal 2 avoids launch chaosThe airport’s new £2.5bn facility appears to have escaped the fiasco of 2008 when disruption to services followed the failure of a baggage system
• Bankers keen on Addison Lee listingOwner Carlyle, the US fund manager, which bought Addison Lee 13 months ago, is in no rush to sell its stake but is keeping its options open

The Guardian

• Are solar panel road surfaces the path to the future?How one company is hoping to lead the way by adapting solar panel technology to create a new road surfaceImagine driving your car out of the garage and what you see is not the usual dark grey asphalt but a street of blue-green hexagonal tiles, with lane markings and traffic signs lit up by embedded LED bulbs.The image might seem surreal, but a couple in Idaho is working on making it a reality. Meet Julie and Scott Brusaw, who eight years ago started a project to build a roadway embedded with solar cells. Several private and public grants later, the Brusaws are now in the middle of a fundraisin...

Network Rail

• Retail spend at railway stations soars above high street - new technology reveals footfall by non-rail usersNew sensor technology at Britain's biggest and busiest stations has revealed tens of millions of people a year are visiting them to shop, eat and drink, in addition to those who travel by rail. The new data coincides with Network Rail's latest quarterly retail sales figures, showing a healthy 5.6% growth in like-for-like sales from January to March 2014, well above reported high street growth of 0.5%1 during the same period. On an annualised basis, Network Rail station retailers reported like-for-like sales growth of 6.1% while high street sales reached just 0.75%2.

Birmingham Post

• Birmingham Airport chief urges MPs to back 'great airports for great cities' Paul Kehoe addresses cross party committee after Queen's Speech to call for investment in regional airports
• Another glimpse of the XE saloon: 'The most important car Jaguar will ever make' The latest XE teaser picture shows it with transparent body panels, exposing the sub-frame and crash structures and gives a much clearer indication of what the new car will actually look like

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Area is named as one of most congested regions in the UK The Bradford and Leeds area has been named as the seventh most congestedarea in the UK, down on the previous year, a study has revealed.

London Evening Standard

• Heathrow chiefs' relief as new Terminal 2 gets off to a flying start Heathrow bosses breathed a massive sigh of relief today as the airport’s new £2.5 billion Terminal 2 survived its first morning without a major hitch.

Manchester Evening News

• Strong demand for Airport City's China road showThe China road show, which comes to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen between 9 to 13 June, will be the first of a series of international road shows for Airport City Manchester, the £800m expansion scheme of Manchester Airport.

Wales Online

• A tram-train system is the best way to modernise the Cardiff and Valleys rail network, claims expertThe railways of Cardiff were built for coal and now exist as a happy accident which have contributed to Cardiff’s spectacular revival, pulling in labour from the Valleys where car ownership is low and unemployment high, writes Ian Walmsley

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• HS2 could kill off historic golf courseOne of the country's oldest golf clubs which is set to be sliced in half by HS2 could be forced out of business, bosses have warned.

North Wales Live

• John Lennon Airport looks to provide air traffic control for other UK airportsJLA’s managers believe the business case is compelling, particularly for smaller airports, which might otherwise be unable to support 24 hours a day, seven days a week cover

Peterborough Telegraph

• Major Peterborough rail flyover plan to put more trains on tracksMulti-million pound plans are being drawn up for a major engineering project in Peterborough to get more trains and passengers on to the railway.

Other Regional Press

• Watch out! Bus lane cameras complete with £60 fines backed by Kirklees councillors for Huddersfield£60 fine if drivers stray into bus lanes as part of wider town centre traffic revamp plans

Global Rail News

• Crossrail starts Docklands tunnel driveCrossrail tunnel boring machine (TBM) Jessica has started work on a 900-metre tunnel in London’s Docklands. Described by Crossrail as the project’s shortest tunnel drive, the tunnel will form part[...]

Aviation Industry

• Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-TEN engine completes first runRolls-Royce has run its Trent 1000-TEN engine, which will power all variants of the Boeing 787, for the first time. read more
• Lufthansa reports promising results from CDO approach trials at MunichNew Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) developed by Lufthansa and German Air Traffic Control in Munich are proving to save around 100 liters of fuel on a long-haul flight and around 50 liters per short-haul flight in tests at Munich Airport. read more
• United is first airline to fly out of Heathrow Airport’s new T2United Airlines on Wednesday became the first airline to operate out of London Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2, signaling the official opening of the renovated terminal following a £2.5 billion ($3.8 billion) upgrade. read more

Other News Sources

• Free Sunday parking 'would cost £3.5m' PLANS to bring in citywide free parking on a Sunday would cost a council £3.5 million in its first year according to a new report.
• Congestion increases in City BRIGHTON and Hove’s roads remain in the top five most car-clogged in the country and despite dropping from third worst to fifth worst, the problem is worse than ever.
• GOVERNMENT MUST GET BEHIND GREAT AIRPORTS FOR GREAT CITIES, BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT CEO TELLS MPs FOLLOWING THE QUEEN'S SPEECHAddressing a cross party reception of MPs, Lords and business leaders on the day of the Queen's Speech, Birmingham Airport CEO Paul Kehoe called on the Government to get behind Britain's great...
• Passenger traffic up 8% at European airports during AprilEuropean airport trade body, ACI EUROPE today released its traffic results for the month of April across the European airport network, revealing an impressive year-on year increase of +8.0% in...